While most people would not be happy to wake up and find their dog had chewed off their toe, one Michigan man said he has nothing but gratitude for his furry friend.

Jerry Douthett said his terrier Kiko's "attack" alerted him to a serious infection that might have taken his life.

The 48-year-old had a sore on his toe that had been bothering him for more than a month. Despite the pain, Douthett chose not to see a doctor - even when the skin around the wound started to die.

One day after going out with his wife Rosie, Douthett took a nap and woke up to his foot covered in blood.

"I woke up and the dog was laying alongside my foot, then I looked and blood was everywhere," Douthett told Wood TV, a local NBC affiliate. "I ran to the bathroom and screamed for Rosie to come in. I went to the bathroom, rinsed it off and it was gone."

At the hospital, doctors discovered Douthett had a bone infection. He was also in the advance stages of Type 2 diabetes with a blood sugar level exceeding 500. The normal level is between 80 and 100.

Douthett and his wife have credited Kiko for saving his life. Studies have shown that dogs have a sense of smell a trillion times stronger than humans. They've been trained to smell and detect cancer, brain aneurisms, and even diabetic shock.